Circular multi-feed stocking knitting machine



cmcuum' MULTI-FEED STOCKING KNITTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 24, 1955 June16, 1959 R. H. LAWS-ON 8 Sheets-Sheet l V )NVENTOR.

7 ROBERT H. LAWSON -11 5 n T'T0ENE Y5 June 16, 1959 LAWSON 2,890,577

CIRCULAR MULTI-FEED scrocxmc KNITTING MACHINE Filed Jan 24, 1955 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sol 800 INVENTOR. ROBERT H. LAWSON ATTOE/ rs June 16,- 1959 R. H. LAWSON ,890

CIRCULAR MULTI-FEED STOCKING KNITTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 24, 1955 8 SheetsSheet 5 O 8.05 o O ROBERT H. LAWSON +6 nv-raelvsrs T l N INVENTOR.

June 16, 1959 R. H. LAws'oN 2,890,571

CIRCULAR MULTI-FEED STOCKING KNITTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 24, 1955 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 HIGH'BUTT SIDE Low BUTT SIDE LE PATTERN 23 HIGH SPL CE 24 FANCY AFTER WELT 2 TJTT'I.

IN VEN TOR. ROBERT H-. LAWSON BY NEEDLE CYLINDER PATTERN JACK BUTTS 738 T June 16, 1959 R. H. LAWSON CIRCULAR MULTI-FEED STOCKING KNITTING MACHINE Sheets-Sheet. 6

Filed Jan. 24, 1955 INVENTOR.

ROBERT H. LAWSON H- s HTTOEN'YS mEr . RENEE. m Sam :25

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M i? Q United States Patent CIRCULAR MULTI-FEED STOCKING KNITTING MACHINE Robert H. Lawson, Pawtucket, R.I., assignor to Scott & Williams, Incorporated, Laconia, N.H., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 24, 1955, Serial No. 483,625

20 Claims. (Cl. 66-42) This invention relates to circular multi-feed stocking knotting machines and particularly to machines having mechanism adapted to produce two or three variations in stitches in the same course and to change the selection from couse to course in the knitting of a multi-feed stocking. When knitting ladies hosiery on circular multi-feed knitting machines it is often necessary to be able to knit plain stitches, reinforced stitches and tuck or float stitches, and to do so at different parts of the stocking. It is also desirable to be able to produce all these kinds of stitches in the same course. The object of the present invention is to devise a mechanism which can do all this in a simplified manner and with the minimum number of parts. It is characteristic of my invention that these various stitches can be made in successive courses, and the selection can be made at different points around the needle circle while maintaining the ability to change the selection whenever required by the desired structure of stocking.

As an example of the invention, it will be shown and described in a machine of the general construction set forth in the J. J. McDonough U.S. Patent 2,576,962, dated Dec. 4, 1951, namely, the well-known Scott & Williams revolving needle cylinder ladies hosiery ma chine in its multi-feed form. Reference is made to this McDonough patent for any parts not fully described in the present application. For purposes of illustration it will be assumed that the machine is being adjusted to knit in multi-feed form the stocking shown in the A. E. Page U.S. Patent 2,501,353, dated March 21, 1950. In this stocking, in addition to an automatic make-up and inturned welt, there are a picot edge, the usual circular knit narrowed and widened heel and toe, tapered reinforcements above the heel and in the sole of the foot, and a tuck pattern in the leg and instep. It has heretobefore been known to make three-feed hosiery with a single selection operating on all feeds for splicing and tucking, as shown, for example, in the A. E. Page U.S. Patent 2,146,647, dated February 7, 1939. That machine, as usual, started up from the bare needles. It is known as the Scott & Williams 3-feed K machine.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a developed view of the cam ring layout, throat plates, and a needle and jacks of a two-feed circular hosiery knitting machine built in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a partial view in elevation from the left side of the machine of Fig. 1, showing part of the driving means for the two trick wheels of the machine of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partial view from the rear of the machine of the trick wheel racking means for the machine of Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the drive and controls for the two trick wheels of Figs. 1-3.

Fig. 5 is a diagram of the needle butt length circle for the machine of Figs. 1-4.

Fig. 6 is a developed view of the pattern butts of 2,890,5771 Patented June 16, 1959 the pattern jacks on the high butt needle side of the needle cylinder of the machine of Figs. 1-4' adapted to produce the stocking of this invention as shown in Fig. 11.

Fig. 7 is a developed view corresponding to Fig. 6 of the jacks on the low butt needle side of the needle cylinder.

Fig. 8 is a developed view' of the butts of the jacks of the second or hack trick wheel for producing the stocking of Fig. 11.

Fig. 9 is a developed view similar to Fig. 8' of the jack butts of the first or front trick wheel.

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view on an enlarged scale showing the needle and yarn levels by which the yarns are fed to the needles at the second throat plate to make three kinds of stitches during the making of the high splice of the stocking.

Fig. 11 is a view in side elevation of a stocking according to the above-mentioned Page Patent 2,501,353 adapted to be made on a machine built in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 12 is a diagram of the stitch formation in th leg of the stocking of the said Page Patent 2,501,353.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a conventional lever system suitable for moving the clearing cam at the sec ond feed between tuck and clear positions.

Fig. 14 is a developed view of the cam ring in Fig. 1 showing the relation of the parts during the first three and one-half revolutions after yarns begin to be fed (i.e., the makeup), the arrow indicating the direction of movement of the needles.

Fig. 15 is a plan view of the transfer jack dial, dial makeup and transfer cams adapted to cooperate with the cams of Fig. 14 and the other figures.

The basic single-feed model K Scott & Williams revolving needle cylinder machine adapted to make ladies stockings with automatic inturned welts is shown in the R. W'. Scott U. S. Patent 1,282,958, dated October 29, 1918, and the R. W. Scott U.S. Patent 1,148,055, dated July 27, 1915. Both the three-feed and the present tww feed machine are adapted 0t make a selvage start-up from the bare needles, the two-feed machine making the start-up multi-feed, to make an automatic inturned welt multi-feed, and also to knit multi-feed in rotary movements, the two-feed machine knitting multi-feed in both rotary and reciprocatory movements in the making of a stocking.

A Scott & Williams machine for making ladies hosiery is under the general control of a pattern chain (not shown) which operates the main pattern drum having pattern drum cams 502-5 whose indications are transmitted by means of the usual thrust rod levers 462-5 to the region of the bedplate B where they are distributed around the needle cylinder 260 and the cam ring 271 to cause the necessary changes in manipulations of the pattern means and knitting instrumentalities.

The machine has the usual webholding sinkers and transfer jacks, not shown, the latter carried in a dial located near the upper end of the needle cylinder.

In Figs. 6 and 7, I have shown the pattern butt layout on the pattern jacks 736 in the needle cylinder, Fig. 6 showing the so-called high butt needle side of the cylinder and Fig. 7 the low butt side. These designations of high and low butt refer to the length of butts on the needles themselves, and those butt lengths are shown in Fig. 5. The high butt side consists of the upper half of the plan view shown in this figure, namely, the two separate end groups of butts .338 inch in length, the two groups of .390 and the middle group of .338. The low butt side comprises the two end groups .300, the two short groups .270 and the long center group of .240 butts. This needle butt arrangement is well known and needs no description.

In order to obtain the necessary selection of needles for the features of this all multi-feed knit ladies stockstarting from the bare needles with the automatic inturned Welt, it is preferred to employ a pattern jack system such as shown basically in the I. W. Grothey U.S. Patent-1,678,385, dated July 24, 1928. This pattern jack system includes pattern jacks 736 in the needle cylinder 260. There are short or intermediate jacks 732 located ,above. the pattern jacks and directly under the needles so that they can transmit selections to the needles at appropriate times. The yarns are fed to the needles by pivoted yarn fingers such as F F and F in throat plates 560 and 561, the details of which will be set forth here- .inafter.

It should be understood that while the invention will be shown and described embodied in a machine having only two feeds, it can be used in a machine having additional feeds or knitting points. In multi-feed hosiery machines of the type disclosed in this application there is one less throat plate than there are stitch cams but there are twice as many stitch-drawing surfaces as there are throat plates. The so-called right-hand stitch cam 361 can act as a clearing cam, if desired, when the knitting is proceeding in a rotary direction, and it is so used during reciprocatory knitting. It also provides a stich-drawing surface for what is the second feed when the machine is turning in the reverse direction. When the machine is turning in the rotary or run-down direction, the needles 'are moved from right to left as they appear in Fig. 1. There is a companion left-hand stitch cam 360 which provides a stitch-drawing surface for the second feed when the machine is turning in the rotary direction. It also serves to clear the needles before what is the first feed when the machine is running in the reverse direction. In between these two cams is provided a double center stitch cam 50. This cam has a stitch-drawing surface for each direction of knitting. The two surfaces 51, 52

drawing surface for the first feed is the right-hand stitch- 'drawing surface 51 on the double center cam. The yarns at this. point .are supplied from the right-hand throat plate'561. When turning in this direction, the stitches for the second feed are made of yarns coming from the 'second feed throat plate 560.

The normal needle cam path which controls the eleva- The needle butts begin their knitting cycle or At this level needles just pass above a projecting cam 41 shortly before reaching the stitch cam 361. Preceding the righthand stitch cam 361 there is the usual retractable dividing cam 382 which is used to divide the needles, for example,

during the make-up. When this cam 382 is inserted, it

' directs alternate needles to the down face of the righthand stitch cam 361 which will guide them under this cam so that they neither clear nor take yarn. The cam 43 under cam 50 is withdrawn to allow an unobstructed path for these needles. On continued rotation of the needle cylinder these lowered needles will meet the re- 'maining needles again at the bottom of the stitch-drawing surface 51 of the center stitch cam. It will be seen that every second needle makes a float of yarn rather than a stitch at the first feed while dividing cam 382 is in the selectiveneedles traveling along path 31 (Figs.

-not raised by the intermediate jacks.

clear positions are shown in Fig. 13.

1 and 14) take yarn at the right hand throat plate 561 and knit at the corresponding feed. All the needles take yarn at the left hand throat plate 560 and knit at the second feed. Thus, in the first course, every other needle is knitting while the second course has every needle knitting. At the beginning of the second revolution of the needle cylinder manipulations take place which result in the taking of bites of yarn by the transfer jacks for the automatic inturned welt.

Referring to Fig. 15 which is a view looking down on the dial of the machine with the transfer jacks T rotating in a counterclockwise direction, the projecting cam 297 will be noted. This projecting cam 297 in the dial pushes out the transfer jacks T to take bites of yarn from the needles at the right hand throat plate. The jacks are returned to an intermediate position by a projection in the outer edge of the path in which they travel and by the time the needle cylinder has made one revolution,

the projecting cam 297 has been withdrawn and the transfer jacks remain in their intermediate position, retaining the bites of yarn on their hooks until it is time to transfer them back to the needles as usual.

In order that the machine will be able to have some needles receive the reinforcing yarn in addition to the body yarn while others take only the body yarn at the first feed, the right-hand stitch cam 361 is so built that it can be retracted. When this cam is thus retracted and the dividing cam 382 is out of action, the needles following the normal cam path will come to a small clearing cam 42 lying just under the leading edge of the double center stitch cam 50. This clearing cam 42 which is movable up and down is in the up-position during this operation and is at such height that it will clear any needles reaching it, and they will receive the body yarn .and knit as they pass under the center stitch cam 50.

.ond feed but will receive a body yarn before they are lowered by the left-hand stitch cam 360. Conventional means for moving the clearing cam 354 between tuck and It will be seen that a cam 506 on the main pattern drum serves to lower the clearing cam 354 to tuck level.

jacks, as well as two selector drums or trick wheels. The

intermediate jacks are raised into the memory path by a first memory clearing cam 743. This cam is adapted to raise the jacks so that the butts of the corresponding needles travel at a level higher than the normal needle cam path level 30 for some distance prior to the point at which the needles with unselected jacks reach the clearing cam 42. The level to which cam 743 raises the needle butts is indicated in the drawings by the reference character 31 and is sufiiciently high so that the needles at this level are cleared. Just prior to reaching the center stitch cam 50 these needles can receive a reinforcing yarn from a yarn finger in throat plate 560 which may be at the location F of that figure. After this, they join the needles The intermediate jacks in the memory path come to a second memory clearing cam 750 shortly after the needles pass under the lowermostpoint of the center stitch cam 50. At this point the intermediate jacks cause their needles to rise into a notch .57 at the trailing end of the center stitch cam. At this height these needles raised by their intermediate jacks will take a reinforcing yarn from the finger F at the second feed. This second memory clearing cam 7S0 raises its needles slightly sooner than the needles following the normal cam path. It will be noted that by reason both of this elevation and early raising, these needles are able to take the reinforcing yarn from yarn finger F which the needles in the normal path cannot get (see Fig. 10). All needles, however, do receive the body yarn at the second feed. Thus, the memory path has enabled the needles belonging to jacks in the memory path to get reinforcing yarn at both of the feeds.

Before making the transfer for the welt, the needles are lowered by cam 44 which follows the second feed (see Fig. l). The manipulation is the same as in the McDonough Patent 2,576,962. The needles follow along below the low level of path 30 so that they may pass up through the usual transfer bits when they travel up the cam 41 and thus receive the loops held on the transfer bits during the knitting of the welt. During the making of the leg of the stocking, the special lowering cam 44 is retracted from the cylinder.

The second selecting means and how it is intercalated with the jack and needle movements arising from the first selecting means will now be described. By the first selecting means and the memory path it has been made possible to have certain needles receive both the body yarn and the reinforcing yarn while other needles take merely the body yarn, knit at the first feed and tuck at the second feed providing cam 354 is in its lowermost position. If cam 354 is in its upper position the needles at this second feed will clear and knit. The second selecting means so manipulates the needles that they are cleared at the second feed and receive the body yarn but do not take the reinforcing yarn. This second selection will be shown made from among the needles whose intermediate jacks were not put into the memory path. It will be noted that the pattern jacks which move their intermediate jacks into the memory path have been returned to selecting position immediately after the intermediate jacks got into the memory path at the beginning of cam 743. This second selecting means therefore has available to it the pattern jacks for all the needles around the entire needle.

When the pattern jacks selected for the second feed ride up a second feed pattern jack raising cam 752, such selected pattern jacks raise their intermediate jacks and corresponding needles far enough to cause the needles to reach clear height. This clearing cam 752 is located circurnferentially after the intermediate jack cam 750, so the needles do not rise either high enough or soon enough to take the reinforcing yarn.

In making the fabric of the above-mentioned Page Patent 2,501,353, the first selecting means can be used to make a tapered high splice and a tapered sole splice in the stocking. The needles raised by the second selecting means to clear level can be intercalated with the needles following the regular memory path and those tucking at the second feed, so as to produce in the leg the tuck pat tern of the said Page patent. In Fig. 10 the needles that are to tuck are marked N those which take and knit only the body yarn are marked N and those which also get the reinforcing yarn are marked N The memory path and two selecting means which have just been described have wide adaptability in producing all the desired variations in the finished stocking. There is a selection from one drum, said selection carrying through more than one feed, a second selection from a second selecting means, which second means does not operate at the first feed but will superpose itself on the selection that carries through from the first to the second feed. It has been found that by means of selecting drums, it is possible to eliminate tuck stitches at the second feed except on those needles and in those courses where they are desired to make various patterns including that shown in the said Page Patent 2,501,353.

Very complicated patterns may be made with this selection. The second rack wheel may be moved twice per revolution, once every revolution or multiple of revolutions. The first selection may be used for tucking by lowering cam 42 instead of for reinforcing. In this case the second selection may be used to add to the pattern, or if cam 750 is removed, then different needles may be selected for tucking at the two feeds independently of one another. If cam 750 is made movable, then it is possible to make float or reinforced patterns in one part of the stocking and still obtain different tuck selection on the two feeds at other parts of the stocking.

It will be noted that since the tucking for the Page fabric occurs only at one of the two feeds, it will automatically occur every other course during the making of the pattern in the leg and foot, and that since the tucking takes place at the second feed on the machine, there will be no interference with the tuck course when making the instep course going out of the heel.

The combination of selecting systems above described can also be used to produce a picot edge 21 or a fancy afterwelt, Le, a bracelet pattern 22 such as are indicated in Fig. 11 or both.

It is also possible "by this combination of selecting means to make a normal stitch, a series of float stitches where selected needles receive two yarns and the remainer one yarn to make patterns, for example based on stitches shown in the F. W. Smith Patent No. 1,772,230, issued August 5, 1930, or a welt stitch where selected needles hold their stitches, but do not take additional yarn. Either the Welt or float stitches or even tuck stitches may be used for making fancy after-welt patterns in the leg and foot of the stocking though the fancy after-welt is normally made with float stitches. The float designs are made in the manner used for reinforcing areas such as the splicings, employing only the number one selection along with the memory system. When operating in this manner the second selecting mechanism may be used to intersperse tuck stitches among the float stitches if desired. Welt stitches may be made at the first feed by lowering unselected needles by means of cam 382, removing cam 43 to allow these needles to pass. At the second feed welt stitches may be formed by feeding a yarn high enough so it will be taken only by the cleared needles. For this purpose a feed finger such as F may be used that feeds yarn just over the top of needles left at tuck height as they rise over cam 354 which is at its lowest level for this operation. By this procedure needles selected to knit by both the first and second selecting mechanisms will make normal stitches at the second feed While at the first feed only needles selected to knit by the first selecting mechanism will make normal stitches. If the second selecting mechanism is not used then the float finger F may be used to make welt stitches at the second feed since this finger feeds yarn only to those needles selected to knit by the first selecting mechanism and no other needles rise high enough to clear their stitches or take yarn from this finger.

The memory system of the present invention will cause needles once selected to follow a similar pathway at more than one feed for reinforcing or other purposes, while at the same time an independent pattern system is used to cause selection among the needles not affected by the memory system, so that these latter needles can be used independently to make a different type of pattern at a second feed. It will be noted that by letting the intermediate jacks and memory path carry on the first selection of the pattern jacks, the pattern jacks are freed to make the second selection and bring needles in as part of the second selection at the second feed at a different height and at a slightly different time so as to vary the stitch as desired.

I will now describe the mechanism which selects the pattern jacks 736 from all the needle circle to produce the stitch variations needed in the stocking. Reference here is made to the Page Patent 2,146,647, above mentioned, which shows a machine in which the welt and foot can be knit at three feeds and produce splicing of varied widths for thehigh splice "and the sole reinforcements at each feed. In that Page patent a selector drum or trick wheel is provided on the lower bedplate to select the needle cylinder pattern jacks. In order to the amount of mechanism needed for this purpose, I prefer to use the compound trick wheel construction of the A. E. Page U.S. Patent 1,969,853, dated August 14, 1934. According to the present invention a trick wheel 800 or 801 is provided for each of the two selecting means in the machine. These are on the bedplate B as heretofore. Each trick wheel has a ratchet or rack wheel 804 underneath it with teeth adapted to permit the wheel to be racked around by a pawl 802 or 803 reciprocated in any usual manner. The periphery of the trick 'wheel is prepared to do the selecting by means of jacks 809 with pattern butts 810 at a multiplicity of levels and the usual set of reader cams each on a vertical post 822 on the bedplate. The reader cams for the first or front wheel 800 are identified by the reference character 820 and the reader cams for the second wheel 801 by the reference character 821. Each reader cam has a point adapted to read its own particular level of butt 810 on the trick wheel. Where a butt has been broken ofi, the point of the reader cam moves close to the surface of the trick wheel by virtue of a tension spring 843 attached to one end of the reader cam. At this time the other end of the reader cam lies close to the surface of the needle cylinder carrying the pattern jacks 736 and presses inwardly the lower end of any needle cylinder pattern jacks which present a butt to that particular reader cam.

As shown in the Page Patent 1,969,853, above mentioned, the reader cams 820 for the front trick wheel 800 can be idled in groups. This enables different selections to be made at different points in the stocking. Thus an upper group of reader cams can be idled from a thrust rod lever 462 controlled by a drum cam 502 on the main pattern drum (see Figs. 2, 3, 4). A lower group is controlled by a thrust rod lever 463 and drum cam 503. These thrust rod levers are pivotally mounted and their upper ends are moved rearward as viewed in Fig. 4, when a drum cam underlies them. They extend up ward through a comb 827. In Fig. 4 a group of reader cams 821 for the rear trick wheel 801 is shown pulled rearward out of action. The connection between the thrust rod levers and the reader cams is as follows. The upper end of the thrust rod levers 462-3 for the front trick wheel are each connected to a wire 830 which serves to pull backward one or a group of jack selecting levers 829 pivotally mounted on the bedplate of the machine, the operating edge of these levers engaging the ends of the groups of reader cams on the side away from the needle cylinder. Similar Wires 831 and jack selecting levers 828 are provided for the rear trick wheel. They are operated by thrust rod levers 464-5 and drum cams 504-5. The thrust rod levers 464 and drum cam 504 for the upper group of rear reader cams 821 are not needed to produce the stocking of Fig. 11.

The process of selection and subsequent raising of the needle cylinder pattern jacks 736 for either the memory system or the independent system involves first rocking the lower end of the jacks outward by pushing inward on the upper end. This is done for the memory system by resetting cam 747 located on a level opposite the upper ends of the pattern jacks at a point slightly prior to the time when the reader cams 820 act on the butts of the jacks, and for the independent system by cam 748 for the reader cams 821. The lower ends of the jacks which it is desired shall not act on the needles are then pushed in, leaving out only the jacks which are 'to be raised. On the lower ends of the jacks there are raising butts 733 which meet a raising cam 741. The pattern jacks that do not have their butts 733 pushed into the cylinder by the reader cams 820 are raised by Zcam 741and in so doing raise the intermediate jacks 732 which are in the same cylinder slot with them so that said'intermediate jacks will rise onto cam 743. i The intermediate jacks 732 that are thus selected to rise on cam 743, which is the start of the memory system, raise the needles in the slots over them to a position indicated by dotted line 31. A cam 742 may be used to raise a group of pattern jacks 736 having long intermediate butts 734 along the same path such jacks would follow up cam 741 if not moved inward by reader cams 820. Thus, cam 742 may be used to raise a group of jacks independent of the selection of said jacks by their reader cams.

As soon as this cam engagement has been effected a lowering cam 745 engages the middle operating butt 734 of the pattern jack and lowers the jack to its normal level with the aid of a guard cam 744 and the lower end of the jack is pushed inward by any suitable cam arrangement such for example as retracting cam means 746. The pattern jacks are now all reassembled and any desired new selection may be made therefrom.

While the memory system is carrying on the selection thus made at the first feed into the second feed, the independent or second selecting means is preparing its own selection. To make the independent selection at the second feed, a second resetting cam 748 is provided which pushes out the lower ends of the rocking pattern jacks 736 again, the reader cams 821 of the second trick wheel push in the lower ends of the jacks whose needles are not to be raised, and the cams 751 and 752 elevate the remaining pattern jacks, and therefore the intermediate jacks and needles in the wales where the needles N; are to be cleared and the plain stitches are to be made. This clearing of the needles is not to such a height or in sutficient time to engage the yarn coming from the reinforcing yarn finger at the second throat plate, but is in time to take the body yarn with the intercalated needles that got the reinforcing yarn. In order to keep the notches under the lower raising butts 733 on the pattern jack 736 in contact with the top of the cam between preliminary raising cam 751 and final raising cam 752 I provide a limit block 753. This serves to box in the jacks which are selectively left with their lower ends in the outer position at 821 with the notch under the butt 733 in contact with the horizontal continuation of cam 751. When the jacks move from under the block 753 they pass undisturbed till they reach the earn 752. This gives control over all the jacks to prevent their contacting cam 752 in a partially rocked position.

After the intermediate jacks from both the first and second selecting means have reached their highest point their butts travel down the surface of intermediate jack lowering cam 749, thus bringing them and the pattern jacks back to normal level. The exact levelling of the pattern jacks is checked by a jack levelling cam 735 engaging the middle operating butt of the pattern jacks, after which the jacks are ready to repeat their cycle.

The pawl 802 for the front selector drum or trick wheel and the pawl 803 for the rear or second trick wheel are allowed to rack the wheels around when not kept out of contact with the rack wheels by a pawl guard and connection such as described in full in the abovementioned Page Patent 1,969,853.

I will now describe the controls and connections from the main pattern drum by which the pawls are given their racking movements (see Figs. 2 and 4). The front pawl 802 is linked to a rocker lever 805 at the top of the frame of the machine and the rear pawl has a similar rocker lever 806 near the rear of the machine. To the front rocker lever 805 is attached an adjustable link 807 extending rearward and to the side where it is pivoted to a bell crank racking lever 808 (see Figs. 2, 3 and 4). The rear rocker lever 806 is connected to a similar bell crank lever 811 by a short link 812. The two bell crank levers oscillate about a horizontal pin 824 extending laterally from the edge of the frame C of the machine, the lever 808 for the front trick wheel being outside the lever 811 for the rear or second trick wheel. Be-

low these levers is a horizontal rotating shaft 817 on which are carried a series of racking cam disks 813, 814, 815, the disk 815 being nearest to the frame of the machine. The bell crank racking lever 811 for the rear trick wheel has a lower arm adapted to act as a reader 816 lying permanently in the path of the periphery of its disk 815. However, the bell crank lever 808 for the front trick wheel is slidably mounted on the horizontal pin 324 so that its lower or reader arm can be in contact with either the disk 813 or the disk 314.

These three racking cam disks 813-4-5 have lobes on them to actuate their reader arms, disk 813 having two lobes, disk 814 four lobes, and disk 815 eight lobes. Since the shaft 817 on which these disks are mounted revolves once for every four revolutions of the needle cylinder, it follows that when the reader 816 of the bell crank lever 808 engages the two-lobed disk 813, the front trick wheel will be racked once for every two revolutions of the needle cylinder. When that reader arm engages the disk 814 the trick wheel will be racked once for each revolution of the needle cylinder. The reader arm 816 of the bell crank lever 811 racks the rear trick wheel twice for every revolution of the needle I cylinder unless stopped by a low tooth and guard such as described in the Page Patent 1,969,853, above mentioned. It will be obvious that the number of lobes on disks 81345 can be changed to accommodate difierent requirements in different patterns.

In the particular embodiment shown, the outermost disk 813 is shown adapted for use in making a tapered high splice, the disk 814 is used for making the fancy after-welt 22, and the disk 815 makes the tuck fabric in the leg and foot.

To change the time schedule of racking the front trick wheel by shifting from lobed-disk 813 to lobed-disk 814, or vice versa, at different parts of the stocking, the following control connections to the main pattern drum are provided. There is a bracket 819 mounted on the frame C of the machine below the three disks 813-4-5. Pivoted on this is a trick wheel racking selector lever 818. The upper arm of this selector lever 818 has a pin and slot connection with the pivot corner of the bell crank 808 controlling the front trick wheel. Rocking of this selector lever 818 slides the bell crank lever 808 from operative contact with the 2-lobed disk 813 to the 4-lobed disk 814, or vice-versa. The rocking of this selector lever 818 moves its lower arm toward or away from the main pattern drum 12%. A short thrust rod 461 extending through slot 466 in the bracket 819 and underlying the lower arm of the selector lever 818 can therefore move the bell crank lever 808 from contact with one lobed-disk to the other by means of a cam 501 on the main pattern drum 126*. A tension spring 823 lying between the lower arm of the selector lever 818 and the bracket 819, as shown in Fig. 3, returns the front trick wheel bell crank lever 308 to its normal position in contact with the 4-lobed disk 814 whenever the pattern drum cam 561 permits the thrust rod to drop down onto the surface of the drum. An adjusting screw 467 is provided on the end face of the lower arm of the lever 818.

In Figs. 8 and 9 I have shown the butts of the trick wheel jacks divided into three different groups for group selection. The top jack selecting plate or lever 829 controls the top twelve reader cams to form the high splice and double sole. This is controlled by thrust rod lever 462 and drum cam 502. The next five positions of reader cams are controlled by the middle jack selecting lever and thrust rod lever 463 to make the so-called bracelet or fancy after-welt pattern. Theeight bottom reader cams are not needed to produce the particular stocking of Fig. 11, and a jack selecting lever and thrust rod lever,

tetc. for this group are not shown in the drawings. There are eight reader cams controlled by the jack selecting lever 828 in the lower group on the rear trick wheel.

It will be noted from Fig. 1 that the two knitting points are rather close together and the interrelating of the two selecting systems to be effective at these two knitting points also involves the following unique arrangement.

in Fig. 1 the general location of the operation of the reader cams 820 on the pattern jacks 736 for the first selection from the front trick wheel is indicated by the' dotted oblong marked 820, while the area of operation of the reader cams on the pattern jacks for the second feed is indicated by the dotted oblong marked 821. It will be noted that both these areas are in advance of the first knitting point, and I have found it possible to have them close together partly by raising the pattern jacks only a very small amount in order to complete selection of the intermediate jacks and place them in a path where they will raise the needles into the memory path. This low selection of the pattern jacks means that only a small amount of room is required after the first trick wheel to return the jacks for a second selection. By causing this second selection of the pattern jacks at this early point but without raising them far enough to effect the vertical movements of the needles until the pattern jack raising cam 752 is reached at the second feed, the selected intermediate jacks do not raise their needles to clear height at the second feed until the desired time although the selection of the pattern jacks was started before the first feed knitting point had been reached.

The construction of the machine having been described, the operation of the machine to produce the stocking shown in the drawings will now be set forth. At the beginning of the stocking the regular dividing cam 382 is inserted far enough to cause alternate needles to pass under the leading stitch cam 361. This gives the welt setup which enables the machine to make up in the usual manner, as is well known in the industry. After the make-up the dividing cam 382 is withdrawn and the regular model K automatic inturned welt 20 is finished (see the McDonough US. Patent 2,576,962, etc.).

If during the making of the welt it is desired to form a picot edge 21, tuck stitches (see Fig. 11) can be made by using two of the rows 22 and p of pattern jack butts to allow selection of alternate needles by the use of the front or first trick wheel. If a picot with a tuck stitch in every fourth needle is desired, two other rows in and q of the fancy after-welt or bracelet pattern on the middle control plate of the front trick wheel can be used. If two or more successive courses of tucks are desired for a picot edge, clearing earns 42 and 354 are lowered .and body yarn fed to those needles from lingers in the throat plates 56%) and 561. If a fancy after-Welt 22 is .desired during the making of the upper part of the stocking, the entire bracelet pattern can be availed of. For this purpose the 4-lobed racking cam disk 814 on the shaft 817 is used by having the thrust rod 461 on the low step on the cam 501, the 4-lobed disk revolving once for every four revolutions of the needle cylinder. Revolving at this speed it will be seen that the selector drum or trick wheel will be racked once for every revolution of 'the needle cylinder or, in other words, once for every two courses of knitting. Using the five middle butt positions with the peaked design shown in Figs. 6 and 7, and clearing needles at both feeds, the design can he produced by floating and the same needles will produce float stitches for two courses.

the bracelet pattern will occupy some eighteen courses of knitting. After the fancy after-welt has been made and the trick wheel racked around to its starting point, the

thrust rod lever 463 retracts the reader cams 820 of by the use of the rear or second trick wheel.

11 :them'iddle or fancy after-welt group out'of close'prox- .imity with the needle cylinder. The knitting proceeds with any desired changes in yarn feeds until the leg is reached. At this point, the thrust rod lever 464 permits the reader cams 821 to be pulled in against the back or rear trick wheel 801 by the springs 843, and the making of the so-called microfilm pattern of the Page Patent 2,501,- 353, above-mentioned, or other desirable tuck pattern, begins. This is a tuck stitch pattern 23 and is obtained The pattern is produced by tucking, and in the embodiment shown, tucking can take place only on needles not selected at the first trick wheel and only on needles properly selected at the second feed. At this point the rear or second trick wheel 801 will begin to be racked around and the thrust rod lever 463 will ride up on the main pattern drum cam 503, releasing the reader cams 321 of the microfilm group to read the butts missing on the bottom eight butt levels of the trick wheel layout shown in Fig. 8; Assuming that the trick wheel jack in the end position in Fig. 8 is in position to be etfective on the reader cams 821, the reader cam which is the seventh from the bottom, i.e., at the level s, will be controlling the jacks under the short butt needles as the reader cam in the position x second from the bottom drops toward the bare cylinder under the same needles. This back trick wheel racks twice for each revolution of the needle cylinder to produce the tuck courses during the entire mesh part of the stocking. Since this is a two-feed machine, two courses of knitting are produced for each revolution during which time the trick wheel is racked twice. The cycle to produce two tuck courses is therefore four racks of the trick wheel, each course being followed by a plain course knit at the first feed. At the second rack of the trick wheel the reader cam at level x, which is next to the bottom, is now controlling the jacks under the long butt needles as the bottom reader cam, which is at level v, drops toward the bare cylinder under the same needles. On the third rack the reader cam at the level y is controlling the jacks under the short butts as the broken-off butt opposite the reader cam at level v drops toward the bare cylinder under the same needles. On the fourth rack this reader cam at level v is controlling jacks under the long butt needles as the reader cam at level w third from the bottom finds a butt missing and drops toward the bare cylinder under the same needles.

In order to introduce the reader cams without any 'break in the pattern, the change in elevation of the butts broken ofl for the leg pattern is such that the reader cams must be changed to operate on diiferent rows of jack butts in order to form a pattern. This is described in the Houseman US. Patent 2,264,977, dated December 2, 1941. A change in elevation of the butts broken ofi can be noted in Figs. 6 and 7 of the present application.

'According to this system the change in elevation of the butts is made at uniform points and a reader cam is in serted toward the bare cylinder where butts are missing shortly before the segment of the needle circle that has butts opposite the cam is reached. In this way the point at which the pattern jacks begin to be selected and cease to be selected around the cylinder is always definite. The front trick wheel may be idled during the making of the leg pattern before reaching the high splice area which latter is made using the front trick wheel in addition to the back trick wheel which latter continues to make the leg pattern except in the splice area.

The effect of a reader cam meeting a missing butt on the trick wheel is to cause the other end of the reader cam to press in the pattern butts 738 at its level on all pattern jacks 736 passing it. If a butt is missing on a pattern jack, the lower end of that jack will stay out and will engage raising cams 751, 752. This will cause that particular needle to be raised high enough to clear and take :the body yarn. However, where there is a butt on the pattern jack opposite the reader cam, the lower end of the pattern jack-is pressed inwardly and misses the raising cams 751, 752. The corresponding needle therefore merely rises on needle cam 56 and is raised slightly by clearing cam 354. However, this clearing cam 354 is in its lowermost position shown in solid lines in Fig. l, and while the needle gets the body yarn it is not cleared and therefore makes a tuck stitch. It should be noted that needles selected by the memory system at the first feed will be cleared at both feeds because the intermediate jacks raise them to clear level on cam 743 at the first feed and on cam 750 at the second feed so that tucking takes place only at needles not selected at the first selecting station and then only on a selection of the remaining needles at the second feed.

I will now describe what is happening with regard to the first trick wheel. At the beginning of the leg where no high splice or double sole is needed, the first trick wheel is being held out of action by thrust rod lever 462, etc. and all the needles are traveling along a low normal butt level and are raised to clear by projecting cam 41 and clearing cam 42. They will take the body yarn and knit and then follow on to take body yarn and knit at the next feed. At this point in the stocking the mesh pattern of the Page Patent 2,501,353 may be produced.

When it is desired to make a high splice 24 and double sole 25, the front trick wheel, arranged as shown in Fig. 9, is activated by thrust rod lever 462 coming off its drum cam 502 and permitting the reader cams for the high splice and double sole to go into action. Simultaneously the cam 501 on the main pattern drum will adjust the rate of racking so that the wheel is racked once every two revolutions of the needle cylinder. Since it is desired to produce a stepped high splice in this particular stocking, the width of the splicing can be changed in multiples of four courses of knitting, and specifically in Fig. 9 once every sixteen or twenty-four courses of knitting. When a butt is missing on the trick wheel the reader cam moves close to the cylinder where it will strike against any pattern jack butts which it may meet. Where butts are present on the pattern jacks, as shown in black in Figs. 6 and 7, the lower end of the pattern jack is pushed radially inward, misses raising cam 741, and the corresponding needle continues at the low level 30 and is raised by projecting cam 41 and clearing cam 42 to take the body yarn but not the reinforcing yarn. It will be seen, therefore, that on the high butt side of the machine shown in Fig.

6, namely, the upper half of the showing of the needle butts in Fig. 5 where the lengths are .338 and .390, all butts are present and therefore no reinforcing yarn is fed to the needles on that side. The needles where butts are absent on the pattern jacks, however, begin where the high splice is needed and gradually increase in number, as shown in Fig. 7. As can be seen from Fig. 9, where the racking is moving from right to left, after increasing to make the high splice the number of needles to receive the splicing yarn is first decreased and then increased again in order to make the double sole. When the double sole has been finished the thrust rod lever 462 rides on to its pattern drum cam 502 and pulls the reader cams out of action. The rack wheel, after being racked around to zero, stops, ready for the next stocking. The microfilm leg pattern 23 continues through the instep 26 and the top of the foot, shown in Fig. 11.

It will be seen that the combination of the memory system selection made by the pattern jacks but carried on by the intermediate jacks, with the second selecting means using the pattern jacks, and the difference in time and distance of elevation of needles and the varied levels of yarn feeding, combine with the two feeds to give a highly elastic variation of stitch control with a minimum of parts.

What is claimed is:

1. In a circular multi-feed knitting machine having a. needle cylinder, independent needles therein, a cam path for the needles, jacks under the needles, at least two knitat both said feeds to take a path different from that of the needle cam path, and a first selecting means adapted to select and raise jacks into the memory path, in combination with independent selecting means adapted to select jacks at the second said feed from among those not affected by the memory path and to move corresponding needles in a path different from the memory path and cam path needles; whereby two kinds of stitches are made at the first feed and three kinds at the second feed.

2. A circular multi-feed knitting machine having a needle cylinder, independent needles therein, a cam path for the needles, jacks under the needles, at least two knitting feeds, and a jack memory path adapted to cause needles whose jacks are in the path to follow the path for said two feeds to make a special stitch, in combination with two selecting means, one adapted to make a selec tion and raise jacks into the memory path for said two feeds and the second selecting means adapted to make a jack selection after the first said feed from those not selected at the first feed and to impose its selection at the second feed along with the memory selection.

3. A circular multi-feed hosiery knitting machine having a needle cylinder, independent needles therein, intermediate and pattern jacks under the needles, at least two yarn feeding stations and a needle selecting station for each of two successive yarn feeding stations, the first selecting station being adapted to select pattern jacks and corresponding intermediate jacks, and a memory path to receive selected intermediate jacks to cause the corresponding needles to vary their stitch formation at said two successive yarn feeding stations; the second needle selecting station being adapted to select needles through the pattern jacks to vary the stitch formation on selected needles at the second feeding station in a manner different from the stitch formation produced at the second feeding station by the needles controlled by the memory path.

4. A circular multi-feed hosiery knitting machine having a needle cylinder, independent needles therein, intermediate jacks under the needles and pattern jacks under the intermediate jacks, a needle cam path, two knitting feeds, a cam in said path at the second of the feeds movable from clear to tuck level, a memory path for selected intermediate jacks adapted to raise corresponding needles above the level caused by the needle cam path at both feeds and to cause the needles to be cleared at this point, in combination with a first selecting means adapted to select and raise selected jacks into the jack path for two feeds, an independent selecting means adapted to make a pattern jack selection after the first feed from those not selected by the memory path selecting means and to impose its selection at the second feed along with the memory selection and to clear its needles there, and means to move the movable clearing cam to tuck position; whereby all needles with selected jacks are cleared and the non-selected needles are at tuck level at the second feed.

5. A circular multi-feed hosiery knitting machine having a needle cylinder, independent needles therein, a normal cam path for the needles, intermediate jacks thereunder and pattern jacks below the intermediate jacks, in combination with two yarn feeding stations and two needle selecting systems, the first selecting system comprising means adapted to select pattern jacks and corresponding intermediate jacks, and a memory path to receive the said intermediate jacks to cause the corresponding needles to vary their stitch formation from that of the normal path at each of two successive feeding stations, the second selection system being associated with the second of said two successive feeding stations and adapted to cause selection of needles not controlled by the memory path to cause those needles to vary their stitch formation at that second feed in a manner different from those controlled by the memory path.

6. A circular two-feed hosiery knitting machine having a needle cylinder, independent needles therein, intermediate jacks thereunder, pattern jacks below the intermediate jacks, two feeds and two needle selection systems, the first comprising a needle selection system at one feed, and a memory path adapted to clear needles whose jacks are in the path at that feed and the next one, said selection system having means adapted to select and place jacks in that memory path, yarn fingers at both feeds adapted to present reinforcing yarn only to those needles specially elevated by jacks in the memory path, the second needle selection system being associated with the second feed and adapted to select variably from needles whose jacks are not controlled by the memory system and to differentiate their stitch formation from those of needles not selected by either system and to clear such selected needles at the second feed; whereby a varied spliced area is knit at both feeds above the heel and in the foot.

7. A circular two-feed hosiery knitting machine having a needle cylinder, independent needles therein, two knitting feeds and means to knit at both feeds in a rotary and also in a reciprocatory manner for the formation of heel and toe pockets, main and reinforcing yarn fingers at each feed, means to move to and restore from idle loopholding position at the beginning and end of a pocket, needles not needed for that pocket, in combination with needle controlling mechanism for causing a selected and variable number of needles to take and knit a splicing thread in addition to the main thread at each knitting position to produce a spliced area above a heel pocket and in the sole of the foot.

8. A circular two-feed hosiery knitting machine according to claim 7 in which there are welting instruments adapted to move into and out of operative position, and in which the needle controlling mechanism can control the needles to cause alternate needles at one feed to miss the yarn and an inturned welt is produced by knitting at both feeds.

9. A circular two-feed hosiery knitting machine according to claim 7 in which the needle controlling mechanism includes jacks under the needles and selection can be made at any point around the needle cylinder for splicing.

10. A circular two-feed hosiery knitting machine having a needle cylinder, independent needles therein, two knitting feeds and means to knit at both feeds in a. rotary and also in a reciprocatory manner for the formation of heel and toe pockets, main and reinforcing yarn fingers at each feed; and a normal cam path for the needles and cams in said path at both feeds adapted to cause needles to be moved to tuck position, in combination with jack means adapted to select jacks for raising needles to clear at both feeds; whereby spaced needles are caused to tuck and a picot edge is produced.

11. A circular two-feed hosiery knitting machine according to claim 7 in which there are means for producingka picot edge, adapted to cause spaced needles to we 12. A circular two-feed hosiery knitting machine according to claim 7 in which there are means for producing a picot edge, adapted to cause spaced needles to tuck at both feeds.

13. A circular multi-feed knitting machine having a needle cylinder, independent needles therein, a cam path for the needles effective to exercise a general control over all the needles, intermediate and pattern jacks under the needles, at least two knitting feeds, a jack memory path adapted to cause all needles whose intermediate jacks enter it to take a path different from that of the needle cam path at .both feeds, and a first selecting means adapted to select pattern jacks and thereby raise intermediate jacks into the memory path, in combination with independent selecting means adapted to select pattern jacks at 15 the second feed from among those whose intermediate jacks are not in the memory path and thereby to move corresponding needles in a path higher than those affected only by the needle cam path and different from the memory path needles; whereby two kinds of stitches are made at the first feed and three kinds at the second feed.

14. A circular knitting machine of the type having a needle bed and knitting cams and organised to knit a stocking by relative rotation between the bed and cams and heel and toe pouches by relative oscillation between them, which machine is provided with two knitting positions and at each position with a set of thread feeders and a set of knitting cams each of which sets of feeders includes at least one main feeder and at least one splicing feeder and each of which sets of cams is arranged to knit during rotation and during oscillation whereby two courses are knitted at each rotation and at each swing, pouching mechanism for knitting a heel pouch and a toe pouch by oscillation and for diverting, at the commencement of each pouch, the needles not required for it to an inactive loop-holding level and for subsequently restoring them to knitting activity and needle controlling mechanism for causing a selected and variable number of the needles employed for the heel to take and knit a splicing thread in addition to the main thread at each knitting position in the production of a spliced area above the heel and in the foot bottom.

15. A machine according to claim 14, having welting mechanism for producing an inturned welt.

16. A machine according to claim 15, having the machine arranged to knit at both feeding positions during the production of the welt.

17. A machine according to claim 16, having welting instruments capable of movement into and out of an operative position in which they extend above lowered odd needles to receive loops drawn by the even needles, and

having welting means for controlling the needles in such manner that at the start of the welt even needles knit a first course at one position and odd needles miss, all needles knit a second course at the other position, even needles knit a third course at said one position and draw loops over the operative welting instruments while odd needles miss and all needles knit a fourth course at the other position, the welting instruments being inoperative.

18. A machine according to claim 14 having picot mechanism for producing a picot edge by controlling spaced needles to tuck at both positions.

19. A machine according to claim 14 having means for patterning by needle selection throughout the entire needle circle.

20. A circular two-feed hosiery knitting machine having a needle cylinder, independent needles therein, two knitting feeds and means to knit at both feeds in a rotary and also in a reciprocatory manner for the formation of heel and toe pockets, main and reinforcing yarn fingers at each feed, means to move to and restore from idle loopholding position at the beginning and end of a pocket, needles not needed for that pocket, in combination with needle controlling mechanism, comprising amongst other elements a double center stitch cam having a notch at the trailing end thereof permitting needles to rise high enough to take a splicing thread, for causing a selected and variable number of needles to take and knit a splicing thread in addition to the main thread at each knitting position to produce a spliced area above a heel pocket and in the sole of the foot.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 704,842 Great Britain Mar. 3, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF sosmzcrr Patent No, 2,890,577 June 1.6, 1959 Robert Ha Lawson It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 16, for "knotting" read w knitting column 2; line 41, for ot make" read to make column 5, line 39, after "needle insert circle Signed and sealed this 3rd day of November 195% (SEAL) Attest:

KARL AXLINE ROBERT E. wATsoN Attesting Ofiicer Commissioner of Patents 

